It seems searching for buried treasure isn’t limited to pirates. It seems ants also like finding …. and destroying … what they come across underground.

A 60-year-old farmer in Sichuan, China found this out the hard way. Qi Shengli decided to bury 20,000 yuan, which is equivalent to about $3,000 U.S. Dollars in a 6-inch deep hole he dug in his bedroom.

Qi Shengli thought this would keep his money safe (not unlike those who stash cash under mattresses rather than using a bank), but sadly, Shengli’s plan backfired.

Around two years after burying it, when he went to retrieve the money, he was astonished to find that ants had eaten through almost all of the cash!

Shengli and his sons went to the bank where they were able to salvage 600 yuan of his lost fortune by piecing some of the notes together. The rest, unfortunately, had been so badly destroyed by the ants they had completely lost their value.

So, what can we learn from this story? For one, it’s always a good idea to store your money in the bank… and secondly, pests can be very destructive. We have seen this time and time again with clients whose homes have been severely damaged by termites, for example.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to hire a professional pest control company. Even if you don’t think you have a problem, bear in mind the damage that may be going on that you cant see. This is certainly the situation Qi Shengli found himself in!

What do you think? Do you feel bad for Qi Shengli? Does it get you thinking about what pests may be in and around your home, invading your personal belongings?